Tunisia’s Diverse Djerba Island and Its Annual Jewish Pilgrimage

Jun 2, 2015 by

Tunisia’s Diverse Djerba Island and Its Annual Jewish Pilgrimage

[This post was originally published in June 2012] An earlier post discussed Ibadi Islam, the predominant faith in Oman. In addition to Oman and its settlements in East Africa, the Ibadi faith can also be found in small pockets in...

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Tunisia’s Diverse Djerba Island and Its Annual Jewish Pilgrimage

May 5, 2015 by

Tunisia’s Diverse Djerba Island and Its Annual Jewish Pilgrimage

[Recent news reports of a potential terror attack against Jews in Tunisia make this post, originally published in June 2012, relevant again.] A previous post discussed Ibadi Islam, the predominant faith in Oman. In addition to Oman...

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Speech peculiarities in Russian jokes

Feb 10, 2011 by

To stay on the topic of Russian jokes (anekdoty), let me make an observation about such jokes that involve various ethnic characters. But first a disclaimer: although such jokes would be very un-PC in the U.S., they are very popular...

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Crimean Karaim — who are they?

Feb 1, 2011 by

When you find a group with a surprising combination of linguistic and religious affiliation, you know an interesting story is coming. One example is the Crimean Karaim. They are a Jewish group speaking a Turkic language. But first, a...

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Controversies surrounding Bnei Menashe

Jun 9, 2010 by

Bnei Menashe is a group of more than 9,000 people from India’s North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram. They look the part and speak a Tibeto-Burman language. But, as their name suggests, they claim descent from the...

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